Sanpete County Fly-In highlights airport’s role in the community

Back this year

MANTI-EPHRAIM AIRPORT—From wild horses and wildfires to medical emergencies and business opportunities, the airplanes at the Sanpete County Fly-In represent far more than a fun Saturday.

For organizers, that is the point.

The annual event at the Ephraim-Manti Airport is designed to give Sanpete residents a closer look at an often-overlooked community resource and the many ways it serves the county.

“We want the community to really understand what the airport is,” said Jeremy Hallows, one of the event’s organizers.

Recreation is part of the picture, Hallows said, but the airport’s role extends well beyond people who simply want to fly.

The airport provides access for businesses, supports fire suppression efforts and can serve as a launching point for medical evacuations. Fire crews fighting fires in the area this summer have used the airport, Hallows said, while people injured in mountain accidents have previously been flown from the facility for medical care.

Agricultural operations also use the airport. Hallows said some companies operate from the facility to reseed areas, while aircraft can be used in operations such as searching for cattle and rounding up wild horses.

The fly-in gives residents an opportunity to see some of those different uses reflected in the aircraft gathered at the airport.

Among the planes are tail-dragger aircraft used for recreation and specialized flying, high-wing airplanes used for training and aircraft operated for personal or business travel. One local business operates a business jet from the airport.

“It’s kind of multifaceted use for all the aircraft that are here,” Hallows said.

For Tom Herbert, a flight instructor at the airport, the fly-in is also an opportunity to introduce residents to aviation on a more personal level.

Herbert operates True North Flight and provides flight training to people ranging from young adults to those in mid-career and retirement.

“We have a lot of people from younger folks to mid-career folks to retired folks who want to come learn to fly or just see if it’s for them,” Herbert said.

Herbert said the airport belongs to the community, whether residents use it to learn to fly, conduct business or simply understand what is available in their own backyard.

“This is your resource,” he said.

The airport also can play a role in attracting businesses to Sanpete County, Herbert said.

“This is kind of the gateway for anybody who’s going to come to Sanpete and invest in any kind of business that’s going to provide a job,” he said.

Herbert’s own aircraft at the fly-in, a modified Cessna 182, reflects another side of aviation. The four-passenger airplane is used for instruction, while Herbert also specializes in backcountry flying. He also provides tailwheel instruction. Tailwheel instruction is flight training that teaches a pilot how to safely taxi, takeoff, fly, and land an airplane equipped with conventional landing gear (a tailwheel or "taildragger") instead of a standard nosewheel.

The fly-in itself has been held for roughly seven or eight years, Hallows said, dating to about 2018, although the event was not held in 2025 following a change in the airport board.

After returning this year, organizers are again using the event to connect the community with the airport — not only as a place for airplanes, but as a facility that can support the county in emergencies, commerce, agriculture, recreation and education.

For Hallows, that broader understanding is what makes the fly-in worthwhile.

“We’re really just wanting to educate the community,” he said. “The airport really serves our community well.”